


Maybe He Just Had To Be

by klaviergavout



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, In Which Rick Sanchez Has No Time For Self-Pity, anyways dw this has a happier ending than i'm making it out to be, morty's still not doing too well emotions-wise after all that's happened, set a couple days after the season 3 premiere ep so beware spoilers if you've not seen it yet!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 11:26:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10570344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klaviergavout/pseuds/klaviergavout
Summary: Everything in Morty Smith's life has been turned upside-down in a matter of days, and so when Rick presents him with an immense symbol of trust mere days after the prison break, he doesn't know for sure if he can handle it.Luckily, the two of them can never seem to get rid of each other for long.





	

It was far past midnight, but Morty Smith lay wide awake, eyes half-closed but his mind wide open.

In the space of a mere few days, his whole life had  been turned  completely upside-down once again.  His Rick had broken out of prison, caused the death of at least three quarters of the Galactic Federation, and had shattered Earth's once linear government system beyond repair; now, the humans were trying their best to pick up the pieces of what Earth used to be before the gromflomites turned it into the ideal tourist destination across the galaxy, and his own family were trying their best to pick up the pieces of what they used to be before Rick gave himself in.  Morty still wasn't  fully  sure  whether or not  his father understood that Rick had left to save them, but it hardly mattered now that the man was already halfway across the country, staying with distant relatives he  barely  knew.

It was a foolish thing, Morty thought, for Jerry to ask his family to choose between him and Rick- he had tried it before, attempted to, back on Dwarf Terrace-9.  _For the rest of your lives, no matter how much it hurts you, no matter how much it destroys our children's futures, we're gonna do whatever Rick wants, whenever he wants?_ It was a genuine question, one that made Morty lay wide awake at midnight, one that made him wonder why he was so loyal to someone who had both saved and ruined their lives.  


Then again, he was a Morty.  Maybe  he  just  had to be.

Morty sighed and rolled over  uncomfortably, reaching out to grab his phone from his beside table- he figured that if he wasn't going to be able to sleep, then  maybe  he could binge-watch some TV shows till he forgot his own name, or  maybe  get up some porn in an attempt at the sort of carnal pleasure he hadn't had in _weeks_.  Turning it on, the screen flashed with notifications of text messages he'd received in the past few hours:  
  


_hey morty, check this video out, lol_ was followed by  a long series of emojis and a YouTube link. Upon clicking it, he found that it was a compilation of funny cat videos. Of course.  Morty closed the link after the first thirty seconds and made sure to let Summer know that he thought it was  hilarious and that he had definitely watched it the entire way through.

_  
nite hon, sweet dreams_ was followed by  an obscene amount of X's. Morty couldn't fault Beth for the spelling. A stranger in his own dimensional home, he was  just  grateful to  be treated  like a son.

_  
hey morty, it's me jessica! i heard your grandpa rick got out of prison and blew up the government? is he okay? are you okay? it's been a while since any of us have been to school since the whole alien invasion thing._ Morty smiled to himself as he typed out a quick response, mulling over the fact that "blew up the government" was a much cooler explanation than "destroyed the government's economy and caused everyone to start killing themselves and each other" .

_  
don't worry, morty, i won't be gone forever! i'll come visit on the weekends. stay safe._ Morty swiped that notification away without replying.

  
And then there was one that had appeared  just  after he had turned the phone on.

  
_Infrared tells me your phone's on. Get the fuck down here  
_

He sighed, very  deeply  and very  loudly , before getting out of bed.

 

* * *

"Hey, Rick," said Morty, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door to the garage.

It was different now, much less comforting than it used to be-  possibly  because he had spent a lot of time alone in there during Rick's absence, and the feeling of loneliness had never  really  left since then  .  Papers were strewn about the floor: blueprints of haphazard spacecraft and indescribable weaponry, coded letters to those who had escaped the bloodbath on Planet Squanch, and the odd magazine cutout of some busty alien stripper  .  Drawers had  been left  wide open, cabinet doors ajar, and tools scattered about the tabletops  .  Rick was of course there, hair dishevelled, curious burn marks seared onto his coat; when he heard the door open, he turned  swiftly  around, and Morty noted that there were several burn marks on his face, too.

"Hey, Morty, took you long enough! Here. I made something."

He motioned down at his hands, and Morty squinted his eyes at the sudden rush of green light. The object was white and rectangular, with a small, rounded handle and a glowing substance at its top. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Morty began to recognise the black dial, the display, the shape. Albeit being much smaller than Rick's, it was a portal gun, and it was being handed out to him.  
  
  
"Yeah, baby, you  just  got your own portal gun!" Rick grinned, looking down at his recent creation. "OK, so it doesn't take you _everywhere,_ but who gives a shit? You can-- you can show this off to the _whole_ family, Morty.  Take them to exciting places such as, uh," and he picked up a scrunched-up list from the counter behind him, "this dimension, our dimension, and whatever dimension I'm in at any given time  . Neat, huh? Now you'll never get lost. Which is going to be _ really  _ useful in a couple hours, 'cause we're gonna blow some sh--"  
  
  
"I don't want it."

  
Rick looked up from the gun and stared.

  
"I  just  \-- Rick, it's  really  cool. But so much has been happening!  You break out of prison, destroy the Federation, and now everything's  _ instantly  _ supposed to be back to normal  ?  My dad's left us now, because of all this, a-and the only reason my mom hasn't drank herself to _death_ is because you're here  . They aren't even my real parents, Rick! And before you found us, me and Summer, w-we ended up back home..." Morty trailed off, his throat closing up, and he blinked back the beginnings of tears from his eyes. " _Our_ home. C-137. Everything was so messed up, and you know why? Because of _us_. Because of what we did. I  just  don't w-want to ruin anyone else's life like that. I need to be _here,_ for my mom, for Summer. I can't risk losing everything again."

  
Rick continued to stare at him.

  
"Look, I'm sorry, Rick--"

  
"Listen, Morty, whatever." It was now that Rick began talking. "If you don't want to go on any more adventures, that's fine. It's not like you won't be my Morty anymore, I'll  just  \-- I'll  just  find a temporary replacement. To disguise the brainwaves and everything.  You're gonna be needing this either way," he said, thrusting the smaller portal gun into Morty's hands . "It'll keep you safe."

  
And with that, Rick picked up his own portal gun from the counter top, shot out a portal and left.

 

* * *

Rick waited  patiently  in the lobby of Blips and Chitz for a good twenty minutes before a large green mass appeared next to him and a tearful Morty Smith walked out.

  
"OK, Rick," he began, rubbing his eyes, "you got me. You might have ruined my life and  totally  messed up my family, but I'm not letting anyone else take my place."

  
Rick beamed  proudly , pulling his grandson into a friendly headlock.

  
"'Atta, boy." He ruffled Morty's hair before letting go, earning him a small smile from the boy. "Listen, Morty, you gotta let out your feelings sometimes, or shit like _that_ happens! Emotional rants get you nowhere, Morty. They  just  waste time and make people pity you. _Never_ let anyone pity you, Morty. Now, whadda you say we spend the next few hours beating the _hell_ out of the ROY high score?"

  
Morty gave him a determined nod.

  
"Hey, uh, Rick?"

   
"Yeah?"

  
Morty smirked as the two of them made their way towards the machine. "Don't go back to the carpet store."

  
"As if I'd ever do that," replied Rick, slipping on the helmet with ease and inserting a few Flurbos into the coin slot. "Whoever goes back to the carpet store is a dipshit of the fourth _degree._ "


End file.
